Let The Sun Shine In
Amanda Honore’ Donley’s Work Brings Her Talent To Light
By Fred Tscheulin

                “I’d rather be swimming” is the name given to a unique series of interpretive pieces of architectural artglass designed by artist Amanda Honore’ Donley. According to Amanda, “The idea was inspired by the water, living here on Smith Mountain Lake. It has evolved into a series of seven autonomous, free-hanging designs, each made with a variety of beveled and slumped glass, created to give the feeling of ‘jumping in the water.’ They are ideal for hanging in a window, on a deck, porch, boat house or gazebo.”
                Amanda is the owner of Rose Window, a studio she established in Martinsville in 1984 that features architectural artglass and decorative painting, including stained glass, fused glass, decorative murals and faux finishes. Amanda’s career began in San Diego studying art in high school and college and working with her father, Tom Honore’, an architect and fine artist in his own right. Today, having relocated to Smith Mountain Lake in 2004, Tom is once again working with Amanda and her husband Larry Donley, a local builder.
                Amanda moved to Virginia in 1980. In 1982, she enrolled in a six-week course with Will Sieler’s Wood & Glass Studio.
                “It was more of an apprenticeship where we worked and learned the art of stained glass,” she said. Today, Amanda is also a teacher at Patrick Henry Community College, which offers Fine Craft Certificate Courses. She teaches the glass curricula including stained glass, glass fusing and glass painting. Students can enroll to become professionals in their chosen craft and teachers can fulfill their continuing education requirements. 
                Over the years Amanda has forged trusted relationships with interior designers at the Lake, namely Kris Willard of Interiors by Kris, Mary Catherine Perry of Trocadero, and Janice Thurman of Envisions. She also works closely with Leigh Ann Boone, a watercolor artist from Rocky Mount, to design and paint wall murals. Commissioned works represent the large majority of Amanda’s projects, and while she has had fun designing and creating stained glass pieces such as lighthouses, sail boats and flying waterfowl, she particularly enjoys challenges of greater dimension. Examples include the Franklin Heights Baptist Church, where in 1996 she created a large window consisting of four panels for the sanctuary. She is currently creating a 6-by-10-foot stained glass window for the church’s new sanctuary.
                Previously, Amanda was commissioned to create a copper trellis for a customer’s entry way and has recently completed a major undertaking for Jim and Catriona Erler, who contacted Kris Willard looking for an artist to work on a special art project for their new “Arts & Crafts” style home. The project was inspired by a stained glass window located in the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, a classic Arts & Crafts home. The completed project consists of 11 separate stained glass panels that form one beautiful piece of art, incorporating the entry door and side panels and depicting an ancient, weathered tree and branches. The window panels were created using a copper foil technique developed by John La Farge and Louis Comfort Tiffany. For complex projects such as these, Amanda is quick to point out that she relies on her husband Larry to assist with design, fabrication and the all-important installation.
                Amanda said she enjoys doing restorations and repairs, “because I like connecting to the artists of the past.” In additon, she said, “I’m looking forward to new challenges and opportunities to create unique designs using fused glass as well as natural and non-traditional materials including metals, rocks and crystals.”

For more information, contact Amanda Honore’ Donley at her Rose Window studio, 26 Bridge Street, Martinsville, VA 24112. 276.638.1792